In Loving Memory
by The Rose Duelist
Summary: Eos attends the funeral for his sister and makes a life-changing decision.


She would've hated it.

All the grandeur, the pomp, the ceremony; it wasn't Opal at all. She was about adventure, exploration, learning about new cultures and getting her hands dirty. She would've wanted something small and intimate with her friends and family, not some large celebration that discussed her heroism and how she changed the galaxy. But this wasn't about Opal. Or at least Eos knew that under the surface, it really wasn't about her.

It had taken two months to plan the funeral to honor Opal and her sacrifice that completely eliminated the Void. Two long months of squabbling between the Vanguard and the Jura of where it should take place, who should speak, what flowers should be handed out to mourners, what hymns and songs sung. It was disgusting.

The organizers hadn't even bothered to ask him and his parents if they wanted to speak. They made the excuse they believed the Elara family would be too overcome with emotion to be able to express how they felt about losing Opal.

What utter bullshit.

Eos still couldn't believe it had taken him this long to see the truth, to see how both sides were wrong in the war. Though he was still apart of the Vanguard, everything had changed after the battle on Cyber. After Opal's death. His eyes were open for the first time in years and he wouldn't allow himself to be brainwashed again.

At least it was raining today, so half of the self-aggrandizing and posturing both sides had planned could not be executed. Instead, they'd had to skip most of the speeches and head straight for the Ankara Mausoleum to avoid the downpour.

The Ankara Mausoleum was a small facility on Cyber that entombed some of the oldest families, including the Elara's. The Vanguard and Jura had each made a case that Opal should be interred in their capital cities. However, Lyra had thankfully intervened and he and his parents chose the family tomb in the Mausoleum.

It was now a small crowd in comparison to the thousand that had arrived for the public ceremony, only to be turned away because of the rain (he didn't feel sorry for them; they wanted to vampirically absorb his family's grief and feel important enough to be a part of some event that they had no business of being). This left only himself, his parents, high ranking Vanguard, high ranking Jura, the contingent of peacekeepers including Lyra, and the crew of the Atlas.

No Pax.

A Vanguard officer began speaking, but Eos didn't listen. His thoughts were on his youngest sister and her obvious absence. He was fine with that. Better than fine. He wanted nothing to do with Pax. She'd appeared to change her attitude for one week after Opal's death. She listened to him talk about the Vanguard and he listened to her about the Jura. Those first few days he thought they'd made progress, started to mend a relationship that many times over he believed was dead, gone, and irreparable. But it didn't seem enough for her and she reverted, became an even more fanatical supporter of the Jura. Then she left and hadn't come back.

Eos didn't care anymore. He would honor Opal's last wishes.

The sounds of crying ripped him from his thoughts and he looked over to see his mother weeping silently. Heart heaving, Eos wrapped an arm around her and held her close. He glanced at his father. The man stared at the casket — empty since no body was recovered— his eyes blank. He was so still and pale that Eos wondered if his grief had sucked the life from him. His parents were haunted by guilt for having access to the astral charges. And now their daughter was gone because of their mistake to keep the weapons secret.

Polite clapping filled the hall. Shaken from his thoughts, Eos realized the ceremony had concluded. He probably should've listened to some of it but he'd shed his tears already. And he wasn't about to validate the efforts of egomaniac politicians with a display of his grief.

One by one the mourners lined up to say goodbye to Opal. First his mother, who kissed the coffin before shuffling away. Second his father, who simply lay his hand on the cover of the casket before drifting away. Finally, it was Eos' turn.

He stepped up to the casket, his eyes raking over the cold exterior. Although he knew that Opal was not in it, the reality of her death hit him. A lump grew and swelled in his throat, his emotions overcoming him. Vision blurry, he lay his hand on the top of the silver metal. He thought of all the things he'd wished he'd done to support her in the past, regretted the times he'd angered and frustrated her, mourned the things they'd never get to do together.

Then his mind went back to the last time he saw Opal. It was through a hologram, not even face to face. God, what he would give to have a second chance to say more in those last moments before she drove the Atlas into the Sanctum. Before she willingly snuffed out her own life to protect billions of others. Now he'd never get the chance to.

"I'm sorry," he leaned down and whispered to the casket. "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you. I couldn't protect you." His chest tightened and his fingers rolled into a fist. Squeezing his eyes shut, he strained to continue, "Still...thank you. Thank you for saving us, for saving me. I miss you, sis. Always will."

Two tears dropped onto the coffin's surface. It was too much. He could feel the grief hanging in the air, the souls of the dead watching him. Sniffling, he strode away, past his parents, escaping further into the Mausoleum.

Eos turned a corner, out of earshot of the mourners. Face hot, Eos felt tears stream down his cheeks. Jittery, anger and pain pumping through his veins, he paced back and forth between the two walls of gravestones. The image of his sister in her last moments with determined eyes, blood splattered across her tan cheeks saying goodbye pulsed in his mind's eye.

She didn't deserve to die. She should've had a long life where she traveled the galaxy like she always dreamed. She wanted to be an explorer, and cruise ship captain was only the first step on that journey. Opal could've become the galaxy's greatest explorer. Instead, she became a casualty of a war she loathed. Maybe she was the last casualty, and perhaps that was something to be celebrated because her actions brought about the end of the war as she intended. But he still hated that she was gone.

And Quandry was still out there.

A blaze of rage flashed through him and he drove his fist into the nearest wall. The son of a bitch got to live and his sister died. Why the fuck was that okay?

Pain exploded through his hand, but he didn't stop and punched the wall once again, this time with a grunt. That fucking devil was still out there.

"Eos?"

He stopped. Weary, Eos stood up straight. Hastily wiping away the tears, he turned to see Deimos walking towards him. Instead of her admiral uniform, she wore a long black dress with an embroidered constellation on the skirts. Eos knew it was Opal's: the constellation that had shined over Cyber the day she was born.

He smiled at her, his heart quietly calling out to hers. It was a beautiful gesture, especially since she should've worn her Vanguard uniform. In this instance, she'd chosen him over the Vanguard. A testament to the bond they shared.

After all, he did love her.

"I wanted to see how you were doing." She murmured, making her way to his side. She stopped a few inches from him and took his reddening hand. Carefully, she examined his fingers and he winced. "I don't think you broke anything."

"My heart wasn't in it," he joked.

Smirking, she lay her blue lips on his knuckles and kissed them one by one. Gentle kisses that exuded the love she felt for him, the love he felt thankful to be the target of.

A swarm of butterflies exploded in his stomach at the softness of her touch. He was still unused to these random moments of affection that happened (only in secret though as she was still the admiral and he was one of her officers). Deimos has a tender side that only he seemed to know about, and he cherished it.

"Thank you." He nodded at the dress. "And for that. It's beautiful."

"Sometimes I know that there are more important things than the Vanguard."

He squeezed her hand.

"Eos, I know things have been...difficult for us recently." Deimos frowned, taking his hand in both of her own.

"Deimos…" He sighed. It wasn't something he wanted to get into at the moment. She knew that he was struggling with the Vanguard after Opal's death.

"I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

"I appreciate you saying that. It's just...this war. I can't support it anymore." He moved away and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. An exhale escaped his lips and he looked away from Deimos. He knew she meant well, but she still didn't completely understand the change within him. The hole that was left with Opal's death. Hopelessness and anger. The crushing sadness and apathy.

But a small part of him didn't care to explain, even though Deimos meant the world to him.

"Eos, I know losing your sister is...I can't even imagine it, but we can't lose sight of creating a safe galaxy." Deimos said, her voice a tad urgent.

"The Void was the enemy and we almost lost because we were too busy embroiled in this war to see what was right in front of us!"

"I'm not saying we can't find peace. But it has to be the correct peace."

"Correct? What the fuck does that mean?" He demanded. The anger in his chest threatened to burst from him and he could feel it short-circuiting his brain so all he could see was red.

"The Jura have demands that we can't just accede to. It's complicated." Deimos rubbed her temples.

"No. It's not. My sister saved all of us from the Void. Singlehandedly. And now you still want to squabble. Don't tell me you're sorry about what happened when you spit on her sacrifice." He snapped.

"And don't suppose to know my mind." She narrowed her eyes, stepping directly in front of him.

"You are the smartest woman I know, Deimos, but I can't believe you're still blind after everything." He stared, then dropped his voice, "After what _we_ went through."

The torture at Quandry's hand. When he saved her life in exchange for taking the pain that had been promised to her.

Her eyes widened but she said nothing.

It was a low blow he knew, because she felt a combination of guilt and gratitude at his actions, even though he constantly told her that he would willingly do it again.

"But I guess that didn't matter to you either. It's still all about the Vanguard rule of law." He hissed, then whirled around and walked back towards the funeral.

"Eos, wait." She grabbed his arm.

He looked back at her and shook his head, the rage dissipating leaving only a weariness. "No. I'm done with the Vanguard. I quit."

Her jaw dropped and she gasped. "You can't just quit. You'll be dishonorably discharged."

"I don't give a shit." He growled, "Now let me go mourn a real hero in peace." He shook her off and rounded the corner to see his mother, face dry of tears.

"She would be proud of you," his mother whispered, a small smile donning her face.

She held out her hand and he took it, returning the sad smile with one of his own. If anything good had come from Opal's death besides the possibility of the war finally ending, it was that his bond with his strength had grown stronger. Silently, they walked back towards the casket hand in hand.

When they rejoined the mourners, they took up their allotted spots next to his father and watched the casket slide into a specified square space in the wall. Once it completely disappeared from view, a granite slab slid over it, enclosing it forever. Carved into the slab was:

_Opal Elara_

_Fearless Captain of The Atlas_

_Hero of the Galaxy_

Clearing his throat, Eos blinked back newly forming tears behind his warm eyes. Opal was everything that he'd always wanted to be. And he'd do everything he could to honor his sister and her last wishes for the rest of his life.

* * *

_A/N: written for the Choices August Challenge on tumblr hosted by Cora-Nova._


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